Herakleitos Fragment 8 (Pansy)

I have looked diligently at my own mind.

Trans. Guy Davenport, Herakleitos and Diogenes. 

San Francisco, Grey Fox Press, 1976

Magic 3: The Magical Origin of Freemasonry (E. Levi; A.E. Waite)

Eliphas Levi (Alphonse Louis Constant) in 1878 

        That great Kabalistical association known in Europe under the name of Masonry appeared suddenly in the world when revolt against the Church had just succeeded in dismembering Christian unity.  The historians of the Order are one and all in a difficulty when seeking to explain its origin.  

Eliphas Levi (Alphonse Louis Constant) in 1848  

        According to one, it derived from a certain guild of Masons who were incorporated for the construction of the cathedral of Strasburg.   Others refer its foundation to Cromwell, without pausing to consider whether the Rites of English Masonry in the days of the Protector were not more probably developed as a counterblast to this leader of Puritanical anarchy.  In fine, some are so ignorant that they attribute to the Jesuits the maintenance and direction, if not indeed the invention, of a society long preserved in secret and always wrapped in mystery (1). 

Strasbourg Cathedral, constructed 1015-1439; from 1647-1874, the world's tallest building.

Pulpit at Strasbourg Cathedral attracting a ray of green light, 2009

        Setting aside this last view, which refutes itself, we can reconcile the others by admitting that the Masonic Brethren borrowed their name and some emblems of their art from the builders of Strasburg cathedral, and that their first public manifestation took place in England, owing to radical institutions and in spite of Cromwell’s despotism.   It may be added that the Templars were their models, the Rosicrucians their immediate progenitors (2), and the Johannite sectarians their more remote ancestors. 

Arthur Edward Waite, co-creator of the Rider-Waite Tarot deck, author of its companion volume, the Key to the Tarot, and translator and annotator of Eliphas Levi's The History of Magic, in early adulthood (date and photographer unknown).

        Their doctrine is that of Zoroaster and of Hermes, their law is progressive initiation, their principle is equality – regulated by the hierarchy and universal fraternity.  They are successors of the school of Alexandria, as of all antique initiations, custodians of the secrets of the Apocalypse and the Zohar. Truth is the object of their worship and they represent truth as light;  they tolerate all forms of faith, profess one philosophy, seek truth only, teach reality, and their plan is to lead all human intelligence by gradual steps into the domain of reason.

Arthur Edward Waite in 1915.  Photographic portrait by E.O. Hoppe*.

NOTES BY ARTHUR EDWARD WAITE

(     (1) This remark, in which I concur unreservedly, may be noted by students of Masonic history as an offset against the pretentious nonsense which has been talked on the subject by French makers of fable and especially J.M. Ragon**, the dullest and most imbecile of all.

      

              (2) This opinion is showing signs of recrudescence at the present day, and it is well to say that there is no evidence to support it.   

       ACravan Notes:    

 *  For more examples of Emil Otto Hoppe (1878-1972) photographs, see here. 

** Waite is referring to Jean-Marie Ragon, author of Orthodoxe Maconnique (Suivie de la Maconnerie Oculte et de l'Initiation Hermetique).  Paris, E. Dentu, 1853. Should any reader wish to peruse this book, a copy is available here.

fR 

      Excerpt from: Eliphas Levi (Alphonse Louis Constant), The History of Magic.  New York, Samuel Weiser, 1971.   Translated, with a Preface and Notes, by Arthur Edward Waite. 

Four Sappho Fragments

I. Fragment 182:    Handbag.

In the Time of Sappho Classic Bag -- GF Studios, 

Based on John William Godward, In the Time of Sappho, 1904

Prada, Sappho Handbag Collection

II. Fragment 114:    

I don't know which way I'm running.  

My mind is part this way, part that.

III. Fragment 193:  That man seems to her.

IV. Fragment 165:  
All colors tangled together.

Sappho translation: Guy Davenport, Seven Greeks. New York, New Directions, 1995.

Fascinating Inka Object (circa 1240-1470 A.D.) From L.A. County Museum

Lime Spoon in the form of a Hummingbird with Cast Picaflor, 1250-1470 AD
Utilitarian object, Gold, malachite, 3 5/8 x 1 1/2 in. (9.21 x 3.81 cm)

        The charming and beautiful object above, which Caroline noticed and pointed out to me at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art last Friday morning, is really something.  Absent professional training in or familiarity with ancient  Peruvian art, artifacts and culture, I don't think one would easily guess that this was a coca spoon  in the form of a gold and malachite hummingbird that was fabricated and used by the Inkas between 1250 and 1470 AD.  

        The museum's label description of the spoon follows just below.  However, seeing and thinking about this "utilitarian object" takes the mind in all sorts of imaginative directions (L.A. and non-L.A.-related) in contemporary and ancient time and space:

    "The practice of chewing coca leaves became widespread during the reign of Topa Inka, the second Inka emperor, and various ceremonies developed around it.  This spoon, with its long handle, served to scoop lime while chewing the leaves.  Lime, a calcium carbonate, broke down the alkaloids in the coca leaves, thus hastening their stimulating effect.  Both substances were carried in small woven bags like the one seen here.  The precious material and elaborate decoration of surviving Inka spoons indicates coca chewing was strictly an elite privilege. (2008)."   

        I didn't have a chance to check out the museum store, but I'm fairly sure that despite its clearly enormous commercial potential, it does not offer high-quality replicas of the hummingbird spoon.  (Like New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art, I suspect that LACMA sticks mainly to more traditional items like medieval crucifixes and Art Deco reproductions from the museum's collections, but I will confirm this and amend as necessary if I find that I'm mistaken.)  That being said, the museum does seem to be quite strong in representing the South American psychopharmacology paraphernalia category, as also evidenced by the two other objects illustrated below.  The first is an example of the aforementioned woven coca bag.  This item was created several hundred years before the hummingbird spoon, possibly as early as 800 AD.  The second is an attractive and impressive (strong modeling, delicate carving and fine polishing) wood and silver coquera, or coca storage container, from the late part of the eighteenth century.

   

Bag for Coca Leaves, AD 600-800

Costume/clothing accessory/carried;  Archeological artifact, Camelid fiber and cotton; dovetailed tapestry with loop stitch embroidery and branded fringe, 16 1/4 x 6 1/2 in. (41.28 x 16.51 cm)

Peru, South Coast, Nasca, Wari-related

Coca Box (Coquera), circa 1770

Vessel, Wood, Cast and chased wood and silver, 7 1/2 x 11 x 9 in. (19.05 x 27.94 x 22.86 cm)

Bolivia, possibly Moxos or Chaquitos

         We saw all sorts of terrific and exciting artworks at the museum, including a small, well-chosen exhibition of early Vija Celmins paintings, which traced and illuminated her development from creating highly accomplished, but somewhat derivative, works as a young artist to master status and the consistent expression of a powerful, unique vision; Chris Burden's Urban Light focus-shifting, uplifting sculpture/installation; and an extraordinarily beautiful, pale green medieval  Korean stoneware melon-shaped ewer, a piece which is simultaneously "there and not there".   (Please see illustrations of all three works below.)

        We did not have a chance to visit the new luxurious Stark Bar, donated by LACMA trustee Wendy Stark (daughter of famous producer Ray Stark), but that's ok:  I don't find hot, sunny days and alcohol consumption conducive to productive art viewing anyway.  (By the way, who does?  I assume the place is simply another concession to the museum-as-extension-of shopping mall trend, which seems unfortunate, inevitable, but at least more in keeping with Los Angeles' flat commercial continuum than this phenomenon does in other big-city museums, where the intrusions of fancy restaurant and ancillary commercial spaces seem to detract from and degrade the museum's core purpose.)  However, the Stark Bar looks lovely and LACMA was a great, great pleasure in all respects, including the consistent courtesy, cheerfulness and professionalism of the guards and other staff.

Vija Celmins,  Gun with Hand #1, 1964 ("I've always been interested in very impossible images....things blowing up....things disappearing in a breath.  Things like the sky, which doesn't even exist.").

Chris Burden, Urban Light, 2008, 2 views  ("I've been driving by these buildings for 40 years, and it's always bugged me how this institution turned its back on the city....... a statement about what constitutes a civilized and sophisticated society: safe after dark and beautiful to behold.")

Melon-Form Ewer with Lotus Design, Korea, Goryeo Period, 918-1392 (12th century), Stoneware with incised decoration under green glaze  

        This Monday morning finds us back in Berwyn after a long, exhausting and health-diminishing weekend journey home. (I seem to have picked up some form of plague between California and Pennsylvania, which isn't entirely surprising; the Continental terminal at LAX was fetid and, one suspected at the time, spore-ridden.)  Turning on the television while making the coffee, I find we're still in a state of suspended animation.

         And in the same old Echo Chamber.        

         Marginal times produce marginal people.

         But ars longa, vita brevis.

Hummingbird Spoon displayed in vitrine with its neighbor, a Peruvian (Moche) Condor figure in ceramic, circa 200 and 500 AD. (Photo credit, Jane Roberts, Strange Phase Studios.) 

Reader Note:  All images enlarge when "clicked".

Ornicopia 6 (Big Bird Part 2)

 

Walton Ford, Elephant Bird (2002)

785.  Where did the elephant bird live?  On the island of Madagascar off the east coast of Africa.

Size comparison of the elephant bird with the human, the ostrich and some non-avian creatures.  Each grid segment = 1 square meter.

786.  When did the elephant bird become extinct?   It is believed that early navigators, stopping off for food supplies, caused the extinction of this species.  Probably this happened some time in the twelfth or thirteenth century.  It is generally believed that the elephant bird gave rise to the legendary tales of the roc.**

Subfossilized elephant bird eggs (Musee National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris)

**    For readers unfamiliar with the roc, or who have forgotten the Sinbad the Sailor stories of their childhood, the roc is an enormous, legendary bird of prey, often described as being white in color.

According to art historian Rudolph Wittkower, the roc originated in the fight between the Indian solar bird Garuda and the chthonic serpent Nāga, a word that A. de Gubernatis asserted signified 'elephant' as well as "snake". The mytheme of Garuda carrying off an elephant that was battling a tortoise appears in two Sanskrit epics, the Mahabharata (I.1353) and the Ramayana (III.39). The roc appears in Arabic geographies and natural history, popularized in Arabian fairy tales and sailors' folklore. Ibn Battuta (iv. 305ff) tells of a mountain hovering in air over the China Seas, which was the roc.   

        In the 13th century, Marco Polo stated "It was for all the world like an eagle, but one indeed of enormous size; so big in fact that its quills were twelve paces long and thick in proportion. And it is so strong that it will seize an elephant in its talons and carry him high into the air and drop him so that he is smashed to pieces; having so killed him, the bird swoops down on him and eats him at leisure". Marco Polo explicitly distinguishes the bird from a griffin.

Friedrich Justin Bertuch, Roc illustration from Arabian Nights,  Bilderbuch für Kinder, 1790-1830 (Eigenbesitz), Fabelwesen

 

        The scientific culture of the 19th century introduced some 'scientific' rationalizations for the myth's origins, by suggesting that the origin of the myth of the roc may lie in embellishments of the often-witnessed power of the eagle that could carry away a newborn lamb. In 1863, Bianconi suggested the roc was a raptor (Hawkins and Goodman, 2003: 1031). Recently a giant subfossil eagle in the genus Stephanoaetus identified from Madagascar was actually implicated as a top bird predator of the island, whose megafauna once included giant lemurs and pygmy hippopotami (Goodman, 1994).

Gustave Dore, The merchants break the roc's egg (from Fifth Voyage of Sinbad), From Le Magasin pitoresque, Paris, 1865

        One such rationalizing theory is that the existence of rocs was postulated from the sight of the African ostrich, which, because of its flightlessness and unusual appearance, was mistaken for the chick of a presumably much larger species. Ostriches, however, were already well-known in Biblical times. But on the other hand, a Medieval Northern European or Indian traveller, if confronted with tales about ostriches, might very well not have recognized them for what they were.

The Avenue or Alley of the Baobabs, Madagascar

Reader Notes:

1.  Elephant bird text excerpted from:  1001 Questions Answered About Birds by Allan D. Cruickshank and Helen G. Cruickshank (Toronto, General Publishing Company, 1958).

2:  Roc descriptive material adapted from Wikipedia.

3.  Please see prior related entry Ornicopia 5: What is the largest bird known to have lived?
4. All images except the eggs enlarge after clicking.

 

Return to Earth (Impromptu In Moribundia 2)

   

 
        The circumstances of my reappearance are too much a matter of common knowledge for me to relate in detail.  As is known, error entered in, and instead of being taken out of the Asteradio, as was anticipated, like a piece of cake that had been put away in the cupboard, I was first found, hysterically sobbing, at one o’clock in the morning, on the steps of the Constitutional Club in Northumberland Avenue.

        The constable who called to me was unable to get anything from me. Apart from incessantly repeating the words ‘For King and Empire, For King and Empire’,  I would not talk, and I could not get any clear idea of who I was, where I had been, or what I was doing.

          I simply wept floods of tears and repeated the same words.  What caused my choice of these words I have no idea.  I had at the time, as far as I can remember, a feeling that it was urgently necessary for me to deliver a solemn message or slogan of some sort (presumably from Moribundia) and these were the only words that came into my head.  I was removed from the steps of the Constitutional Club to the Police Station.  The whole thing was very odd.

Excerpt from:  Patrick Hamilton, Impromptu In Moribundia.  Trent Editions, 1999.  (Originally published 1939.)

The Ides Of April : "To an Income-tax inspector" -- Oscar Wilde letter, April 1889

 

 [? April 1889]                 [Woman's World, La Belle Sauvage]

Sir,

        It was arranged last year that I should send in my income-tax return from Chelsea where I reside, as I am resigning my position here and will not be with Messrs Cassell after August.  I think it would be better to continue that arrangement.  I wish your notices were not so agitating and did not hold out such dreadful threats.  A penalty of fifty pounds sounds like a relic of mediaeval torture,  

Your obedient servant, 

        OSCAR WILDE

Reader note:  Text from Cassell's Weekly, 2 May, 1923

Oscar Wilde in 1889

This post is dedicated to my wife Caroline, who suggested it.  Happy anniversary, Caroline.